ORTHROS BEGINS AT 8:30AM & THE DIVINE LITURGY BEGINS AT 9:30AM
Website Links: Visit the church's website at www.stgeorgeclifton.org for our online streaming links.
To find the prayers for each service and to follow along, visit the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America’s Digital Chant Stand at https://digitalchantstand.goarch.org.
To light a candle or make a donation follow this link https://st-george-greek-orthodox-churchand-the-shrine-of-st-nectarios.square.site/
ST. GEORGE PARISH MISSION STATEMENT
To worship the Holy Trinity and practice Christianity the Orthodox way. To learn and be inspired by the Holy Scripture and the lives of the Saints. To grow in following the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through the church ministries. To live with humility and love in our home, our church family and everywhere.
WE WELCOME EVERYONE TO OUR CHURCH COMMUNITY!
We are grateful that you have joined us for prayer and worship. Please join us after the Divine Services in our Fr. John & Presvytera Margaret Orfanakos Fellowship Hall for our Christmas Brunch hosted by our Greek School and supported by the Scordilis, Borys, Kaloudis, Markropoulos & Haritos families in memory of their departed family members.
Liturgical Schedule:
Sunday, December 18th – Sunday before Nativity…………...Orthros & Divine Liturgy 8:30AM
Friday, December 23rd – Forefeast of the Nativity of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Orthros & Great Hours…..................8:30AM (ΝΟ Holy Communion)
Saturday, December 24th – Eve of the Nativity of Christ, Orthros, Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom...................6:00pm (with Holy Communion)
Sunday, December 25th – The Nativity of our Lord, Jesus Christ……Orthros & Divine Liturgy 8:30AM
Memorial Services Today For:
Argiro Makropoulos – 40 days
Helen (40 days) & Peter (23 yrs.) Haritos
Jason Borys – 3 yrs.
Edward (5 yrs.) & Frances (31 yrs.) Kaloudis
Kon/os (54 yrs.) & Eleni (35 yrs.) Scordilis
Maria & Xaritos Nicolaou – 15 yrs.
May their memory be eternal.
Special Events During Church Services:
Requests for Memorial Services, Artoclasias, 40-day baby blessings, Fanouropites, etc. are welcomed. We recommend that you please let the office know ahead of time so that we can include your special service in the Sunday bulletin.
Mark Your Calendar:
TODAY, December 18th…………..Sunday School Christmas Pageant Greek School Hosts Christmas Brunch St. Paraskevi Philoptochos Vasilopita Sale Pick-up
Tuesday, December 20th…………Metropolis of NJ Christmas Tree Lighting at 6:00PM
Dec. 23rd, Dec. 26th, Dec. 30th & Jan. 2nd ……………Church Office Closed
Sunday, January 8th …………St. Par.askevi Philoptochos Community Cutting of Vasilopita. A luncheon will be provided to all present at no cost.
Saturday, January 21st ………Μetropolis Northern NJ Region Greek Letters Day Celebration at Ss Nicholas, Constantine & Helen in Roseland, NJ at 5PM
St. George Choirs:
"Sing praise to the Lord!" (Ps. 68:32) New members, all ages, welcome & needed! – NO REHEARSALS ON Sunday, December 18th & 25th
Sunday School Christmas Pageant:
Today is our annual Sunday School Christmas Pageant. Our Sunday School children will participate in this pageant. We thank the Choir for providing us with beautiful music and songs. Please remember this is not a performance; it is the children’s opportunity to bring this miracle to life. If you choose to take pictures, please do so with respect from the side aisles only. Thank you for your cooperation. We wish all of you a joyous Christmas season. The red & gold Christmas pageant bows adorning our pews were generously donated in loving memory of Efrosini Doris and Catherine Siskas.
Greek School:
Will host their annual Christmas Family Brunch fundraiser in our Fellowship Hall, following the Christmas Pageant. A FREE WILL Donation to support our Greek School is greatly appreciated. All proceeds will benefit our Greek School program. Please join us for a festive and tasty gathering.
‘Tis the Season for the Angel Tree:
Parishioners are invited to select an Angel from our Christmas Tree and purchase the item mentioned. This year we will be supporting two groups: Human Needs in Montclair will receive our wrapped gifts and our own Warm the Children will ship the unwrapped gifts internationally to several orphanages. Please tape the Angel tag to the outside of the wrapped box or on your unwrapped item and place your gift under the Christmas tree in the atrium. The deadline is TODAY, Sunday, December 18. We thank all of you for your generosity during this joyous season!
IOCC Angels:
This year, our Sunday School children will be creating IOCC Angel Ornaments. These ornaments will be offered for sale to the community for $5.00 each. All money raised will go directly to the IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities.) Please support this worthwhile project and help us teach our children to think of others. Thank you!
Prayers to Heaven Memorial Tree:
Prayer Angels adorn the Christmas tree inside our church. Please take the opportunity to make a donation in memory of a departed loved one this Christmas season. The memorial names will be read at the appropriate time during the Proskomidi, the Divine Liturgy & the Trisagion service on Sunday, January 8, 2023. All donor families will receive a Prayer Angel after the service.
St. Paraskevi Philoptochos News:
- Vasilopita Sale: Pick up is TODAY, Sunday, December 18th. Koulourakia, Kourabiedes and Melomakarona will also be sold.
- Coat Drive: During the month of December, we will be collecting coats for the less fortunate. Clean, gently used coats & jackets of all sizes for adults & children are welcome. We will be donating to onewarmcoat.org. Donations will be accepted until December 31, 2022. Please place coats in the box labeled “Coat Drive”. For more info. contact Presvytera Gigi at 973.650.9510 or Elaine Manoliadis at 973.865.9452.
Feast Day Flower and Icon Donations:
During the Ecclesiastical year, our Church comes alive with many Liturgical services. It is customary in our faith to decorate icons used during special Feast Day services with flowers. We encourage our parishioners to offer this special donation as a way to remember departed friends and relatives, as well as an expression of love for their family and loved ones. Donations are now being accepted for:
(24) 22 Christmas Poinsettia Plants - $25 each
Icon of the Nativity of our Lord - $200 – Donated by the Manis family in honor of their son Christos’ Name Day and in memory of their father & grandfather Christos Manis.
Parish Council Elections:
On Sunday, December 11th we held our Parish Council Elections. We would like to congratulate the 8 nominees that were voted into the Parish Council (in alphabetical order): Tina Anastos, Anthoula Bozios, Chris Bozios, Gus Haritos, Elaine Manoliadis, George Orfanakos, Harriet Panagakis, & John Pilavas. In addition, we congratulate Mike Mastrogiannis and George Hariton who were elected to fill the two open positions on the Endowment Committee.
Northern NJ YAL New Year’s Bash:
Friday, January 6, 2023 from 7:30pm – 12:30am at the Liberty House in Jersey City, NJ. Entertainment by DJ Alex Kouros. Go to nnjyalnewyearsbasg.eventbrite.com to purchase tickets.
Paradise4Kids.org:
You may have met Fr. Themi, now Bishop Themi, when he visited St. George during Easter 2011 as a missionary priest. His inspiring biography is now available in a book titled “Themi, Apostle to the Hungry”. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Orthodox Mission to the poor and needy in Sierra Leone, Africa. To make a purchase, please visit this website www.arkoudaglobalpress.com.
Sunday School Food Collection:
Our Sunday School children are starting this year’s food collection and it will continue throughout the school year. Our goal is to work together to stock the empty shelves of the food pantry all year long! This initial collection will help provide healthy Thanksgiving dinner options for families in need. Please bring in non-perishable food items and leave them in the atrium in the food collection basket. It is so important to help our children think of others and we sincerely thank you for helping us make that happen. Your support is important to so many!
St. George Greek School News:
Pending interest, we intend to hold a Greek School class for 3-year-olds and a Regents/Ellinomatheia Conversation Class (which can earn High School and College language credits) for anyone 12 years old and older. In addition, we would like to establish a Greek Adult Conversation/Culture Course. Anyone interested, please send an email to greekschool@stgeorgeclifton.org or contact the Church Office at 973-779-2626 as soon as possible so plans can be made accordingly. Don't miss the opportunity to either enhance your knowledge or learn more about this rich and beautiful language and culture! “If the violin is the most perfect musical instrument, the Greek language is the violin of the human thought.” Helen Keller
Sponsor A Day Program:
One way to help the church is through our “Sponsor a Day” program. We encourage our parishioners to select a day that has special meaning to them like a birthday, feast day, anniversary or a memorial and make a suggested $250 donation. We would like to thank Militsa Phillips for sponsoring December 5th, the Feast Day of St. Sabba, in memory of her husband Peter and father of Patti Manis & Stella Kopellas. For more information about the program, speak to one of our Parish Council members, Ministry Leaders or call the church.
Please consider sponsoring these feast days:
- December 22nd – St. Anastasia the Great Martyr
- December 24th – St. Eugenia the Righteous, Eve of the Nativity of Christ
- December 25th – The Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
- December 27th – St. Stephen the Archdeacon & First Martyr